CNN will have to fork over at least $5 million to a U.S. Navy veteran after it lost a defamation trial in Florida on Friday. A Panama City, Florida, jury ruled that CNN had defamed security contractor Zachary Young when it aired a 2021 report that said he was part of a “black market” that price-gouged those attempting to flee Afghanistan after the U.

CNN chief national security correspondent Alexander Marquardt testified earlier this week that he did not produce a “hit piece” on the Navy veteran. He and others with the net

The jury decision came after a two-week trial where lawyers for the contractor argued that the network had falsely accused him of illegal activity.